「 BLEEDING HEART; 」

cara sutton. — ❝ Her voice left a flavor of honey and gunpowder on the air.

[carasuttons]

noahthealpha:

He shouldn’t had been surprised that Cara would be the one to find him. She was the most caring out of the lot of them. At least, when it came to him. The rest saw him as a leader. He was fairly certain that Cara saw him as a man, flawed and just as unsure as the rest of them. Tristan was a good person for a vent but at the end of the day, the beta did look to him for answers. 

He sat on the back of the ute, a beer lying next to him forgotten as he glanced at the omega. “You’re welcome to sit here, assuming that there isn’t going to be a lecture about the drinking on a weekday.”

It didn’t take her long to find him. Each member of the pack seemed to have their own special coping mechanism after a pack meeting had gotten a little heated. It was always the same way meeting after meeting, William didn’t like what was going on in their town or how Noah wanted to handle the situation. Noah’s plan of attack usually considered less attacking and more political moves. Will wasn’t the political type, he was punch first and avoid the arrest warrant later. Cara had observed it time after time, and she had watched them all sulk away to process their anger and annoyance just as many times. Quinn would disappear into one of the many vacant rooms, usually accompanied by Tristan and an influx of curse words she could never repeat around her students. William tended to grab the keys for his motorcycle and take matters into his own hand, punching the problem square in the nose and Noah.. 

“Brooding in silence again?” Cara inquired, brow raised sympathetically as the gravel crunched beneath her boots. “I knew I’d find you out here, neglecting a perfectly good beer. You’re lucky Quinn’s upstairs kicking things and probably taking her frustrations out on poor Tristan. Otherwise I’m pretty sure she’d be out here, throwing tyres at you for letting one of her beers go warm.” She climbed onto the back of the ute, taking him up on his offer as she moved the forgotten bottle of beer to one side and sat down next to him. “No lectures. Scouts honour. I just thought I’d come get some fresh air and join you.”

[carasuttons]

noahthealpha:

Noah chuckled. “Despite what Will and you may think, I do not enjoy giving lectures. I wait for the day Will has to give one of his own, then he’ll understand the pain I go through daily.” Noah took a sip of his beer but that thought did linger for a moment. Noah lecturing Will was one of the few pieces of contact Noah actually had with his brother. He wished it wasn’t so negative but at least when he was lecturing, he actually got to talk to Will about matters that were close to the pup’s heart. Noah was fairly sure he wouldn’t know about it any other way.

Cara was still looking at him and Noah jerked himself out of his own thoughts. “Shit, I’m sorry, I am going all ‘brooding in the corner’ as Will calls it. How’s school? Your students?” 

Noah was curious about something other than Cara’s teaching. That being, how the staff were treating her after her big change. Their town didn’t exactly hate the wolves being in town but at the same time, they weren’t exactly pleasant. Noah wanted Cara to know that if any trouble was given, he could handle it but she hadn’t come to him with anything yet. 

He just didn’t want Cara feeling alone, that was all. 

“Oh you do too!” Cara proclaimed with a smile, it wouldn’t surprise her if she learned that Noah practised his lectures in the bathroom mirror every morning or if he had them written down in a little black book, ready and waiting to be used on each of them. Cara sometimes wondered if Tristan had ever been on the receiving end of one of Noah’s lectures. While Will and Quinn were frequent flyers of Lecture Airlines, Tristan seemed to fly under the radar most of the time. Maybe he shared the same thinking as she did, maybe Tristan believed that Noah had his hands full with havoc and chaos that he didn’t need to add to it as well. Cara scoffed, her lips curling around her cocktail glass in amusement at the thought of Will ever having to give somebody else a lecture. “If that ever happens then I want front row tickets.”

Cara dismissed his apology with a wave of her hand, “Don’t worry about it. I’m not going to bust your balls like Quinn probably would or call you broody bear like Will might.” Cara took a long, drawn out sip of her drink, wondering how best to answer his question that wouldn’t make Noah worry about her. The truth was things weren’t great for Cara at her work place, they hadn’t been since the other faculty members and a select group of parents had learned she was friends with Noah and his family. “No complaints, unless you ask my class who have some homework to work on over the weekend.” Cara attempted a faint smile, hoping she was doing a better job at convincing Noah than she had done at convincing herself that things were getting better.

“I’m giving the kids everything they need and deserve, that’s what counts, right?”

[carasuttons]

noahthealpha:

It was easy to forget that Cara was the youngest of the pack. In human years, she was older than Will but as a werewolf, Cara was the equivalent to being a puppy. That being said, Noah couldn’t help noticing that it suited her. Everything about being a wolf settled on her shoulders comfortably. There was an air of confidence around her that he didn’t see before she became pack. It was beautiful to see, she was a sight to watch and Noah couldn’t help being constantly proud of her. 

Noah knew that he couldn’t take all the credit. While his pack was small, it was more a family than anything and it was that feel that made it easier for new pack members to come in. Noah wasn’t overly selective about who joined his pack but after Rosalie, Noah needed a member who wouldn’t break his pack’s hearts again. And they found it in Cara. Kind, beautiful Cara, who could match Quinn’s sarcasm and Tristan’s smarts, who didn’t speak down to Will but rather calmed him when he went on a crusade. She fit. And his pack needed another person who would love them unconditionally.

The back of Noah’s neck was prickling but he ignored, shrugging it off. He was becoming as bad as Will with his paranoia, it was a feeling that something was off but Noah saw nothing. He didn’t want his wolf to ruin the night because he was feeling territorial. It always happened when there were new people in town. “Ah, I got Tristan. The man can do a hell of a guilt trip, I’ll give him that.” Noah took a sip of the beer that Tristan had placed into his hand before scurring off somewhere. His beta knew him well and it wasn’t as though Noah’s order was hard. The Alpha chuckled softly, fondly thinking of Will. “Ah. Thought it was nice and quiet tonight. Although that doesn’t usually bode well for me. If he’s not here drinking, that usually means he’s out causing mischief and I generally have to break the bail jar again.”

Cara searched for words of reassurance for her Alpha. She wanted to ease his worries about his brother, to reassure him that even Will could last one night, unsupervised, without pissing somebody off and getting himself into serious trouble.

The truth was that Will and trouble came hand in hand together.

Instead she laughed, nodding in agreement with her Alpha, "Are you saying you don't enjoy having to always get him out of trouble?" Cara raised her eyebrows, "What would you do if you didn't get to give him one of your personal branded lectures that you're so fond of?"

Luckily for Cara, she had never been on the receiving end of one of Noah's lectures. The youngest werewolf always thought that Noah had enough on his hands constantly trying to reign Will and Quinn in. The the least she could do to repay him for welcoming her into his family was not bring trouble knocking to his door.

Will was a master in the arts of doing that all by himself, he didn't need any help from Cara. While Quinn, like Tristan, was a master of guilt tripping and manipulation. They were a match made in heaven.

[carasuttons]

shewolfquinn:

“Please. If Tristan can’t convince me to stop sneaking chocolate into the bed, you won’t convince me to let you keep that jacket.” Quinn thumbed the leather of the collar, grinning wolfishly. “You’re very welcome to try though. You might be at a handicap though, Tristan has a great ass.”

Quinn rummaged through the shoe section of her makeshift closet, finally chucking a pair of ankle boots at Cara’s feet. “Those are my old faithfuls. The leather is comfortable as hell and they make my legs look amazing. I mean, not that they aren’t already but they make them look more amazing. I bestow them onto you. Use them wisely, young one.” Quinn was all serious tone and somber face as she handed her blessed boots over. “You need to also get your own badass wardrobe.”

Quinn’s brow furrowed as Cara began to describe this guy. It wasn’t until she stated the name of her favourite alcohol that Quinn began to laugh. “Oh yeah, I already like him. I like him a lot.”

Cara wrinkled her nose, it was all she could do to stop herself from shuddering like a teenage girl and calling Quinn gross for talking to her about Tristan’s ass. Cara had been attracted to Tristan when she has first arrived in town, it was hard not to be. Tristan wasn't all slim, lean and defined muscles like Will, he was big boned, his muscles were bigger than her head and he looked like a divine being sent from the heavens. That was before Cara had gotten to know him, though and come to love him like he was her brother. 

“Please, stop. I’m begging you.” Cara pleaded, “Tristan’s butt is the last thing I want on my mind.”

“You do have beautiful legs.” Cara sighed in agreement, Quinn’s legs were something to envy, as was the rest of her body. Cara slipped her feet into the pair of ankle boots, they weren't an exact fit for her but they would do. Cara wasn't going to start complaining about Quinn’s feet being bigger than hers in case it meant she had her boot borrowing pass revoked. 

“I already have a bad ass wardrobe of my own. I’m just a soft core bad ass while you’re more hard core.” Cara stifled her own laugh as she seen the confusion cross Quinn’s features as the other wolf tried to figure out who it was Cara was talking about. “I knew you’d be a fan of his. He’s quite the bad boy.”

[noahthealpha]

When Noah walked into the bar, he was expecting to see a lot of things. He was expecting Tristan behind the bar, charming the pants off some old lady for tips, he expected Will playing pool or darts in the corner, he expected Quinn stealing a bottle of something while Tristan pretended not to notice. What he didn’t expect was Cara. She was sitting daintily at the bar, nursing a drink and she looked… happy. 

He was walking before he realized what he was doing, taking a seat next to her and smiling kindly. “So which one dragged you out to be the third wheel? Usually that’s my position. Although Will is normally a good buffer…” He glanced around again, looking for his pseudo brother. “He didn’t come?”

[carasuttons]

Cara stirred the little umbrella around in her drink, idly, as she watched her family going about their usual business in the bar; Tristan working behind the bar, of course, a towel slung over one of his shoulders while he buttered up a middle aged woman, while Quinn kept sneaking behind the bar to fix herself a drink, free of course. Tristan would never make her pay her tab that she had worked up over the years, no matter how much he teased her about paying it in full one day. Will was, Cara realised then, not amongst her family tonight, which wasn't out of the ordinary for him. Will was often scampering off to do his own thing, and the less she wondered about what that could be the less gross things she could imagine. 

They were her family and watching them made something inside of her chest swell with a joy and comfort she had not felt when she had first been welcomed into The Pack. Cara had been frightened, terrified even of all them and what they were—what she was. Each of them had helped her to accept what being a werewolf was in their own way; Quinn helped her discover her strength, Tristan had always been there after a full moon, somehow knowing exactly what she wanted to hear. Will had taught her to enjoy and embrace being a werewolf and that it didn’t have to be a curse. Noah though, Noah had taught her the most important thing; he had taught her how to keep her humanity and showed her she wasn't alone in the world. 

He had shown her a family.

“That would be Quinn.” Cara said, a smile on her lips as she leaned over to speak to her Alpha. The bar was normally filled with a peaceful buzz of energy, the same faces night after night, but their were a few faces Cara didn’t recognise tonight and the bar felt alive with a different sort of energy tonight. ”What about you? Which one of them had to drag you away from the station kicking and screaming?” She asked with a teasing smile, watching his eyes search the bar for somebody. Will, she realised. “He’s not here,” She said, “You can tell by the lack of shouting and testosterone in the place tonight.”

[carasuttons]

shewolfquinn:

“10 out of 10, would bang you.” Quinn smirked, straightening up her jacket on Cara. “Don’t get any idea though, this jacket is still mine and I will go for the hair if I have to.” She teased Cara, tapping her on the nose. 

Having Cara around brought out this side of Quinn, this softer, teasing, gentle side. Quinn couldn’t deny how protective she was over her pack but Cara was on the recieving end of that protectiveness more than anyone. She was an omega, the newbie. While Quinn knew that Noah and Tristan could take care of themselves, she had never really seen Cara in action. 

“So who are we impressing tonight? Anyone catching your eye in town? Is there someone I should start threatening?” She winked before peeling off her own dress, trying to find her short, tight black one that she loved. 

Cara blushed, it was her default reaction when ever she received a compliment of any sorts. She had confidence in herself that she had never had before she had been bitten by a werewolf, but no where near as much confidence as Quinn had in herself. Quinn had enough confidence for the pair of them, she thought. “We’ll see about that.” Cara said sweetly, “I plan on changing your mind on that by the end of the night.” Cara had always been able to wrap people around her little finger, but she only user her ability for evil in dire situations and convincing Quinn to relinquish ownership of the leather jacket to her was as dire as situations came.

“Now we just need to find me a pair of boots.” Cara pressed her index finger against her lips as she mentally flicked through Quinn’s wardrobe in her head—she had catalogued every item inside of Quinn’s wardrobe—for a pair of boots she could borrow. It would be easier if they were actually at Quinn’s apartment, where her actual wardrobe was, but Cara would have to settle for finding something she had left lying around the old abandoned police station. Of course, it would have been even easier if Cara had just stopped by her own apartment before heading over to the bar, but she preferred the contents of Quinn’s wardrobe to her own.

“There is somebody, actually. You might have heard of him. He’s from Tennessee, all the bad girls love him, he taste like honey.” Cara smiled. “His name is Jack Daniels and I think you’re going to love him.”

[quinn-lawrence-blog]

“Of course. How have you not heard of Noah’s a dork dot com. It is only the best website on the internet. You have an entire page to yourself called Bae.” Or at least that was what Cara would be under if Quinn actually had an internet page based on the pack. She hadn’t given it much thought really. But she knew that Cara would be under Bae, Tristan would hot piece of ass and Will would be the thorn in her side. They knew that was their roles in her life.

Quinn suddenly found herself being dragged through the place they called home with a sigh. Cara was surprisingly strong when she wanted to be. The dress was out and Quinn could see why Cara wanted one of her jackets. It wasn’t as though she would really mourn, she had three at this point. Quinn laughed as Cara commented on her relationship with Tristan. “Well, I mean, he has to blink. His eyes would get dry. But I thank you for the reassurance.”

She didn’t show much vulnerability, even around the pack. But there was always a lingering worry that only came when you really did care about someone. That feeling that they might turn and hurt you. Either way, she was glad that she didn’t imagine how Tristan felt about her, others could see it.

[carasuttons]

“What do you think?” Cara asked once she had slipped into the dress, twirling around for Quinn like she had done for her mother when she was younger and managed to get access to her wardrobe and try on her clothes. Cara’s habit of stealing other people’s clothes had started from an early age, only then the clothes she stole from her mother didn't fit her as well as Quinn’s leather jacket did now. 

Cara chuckled softly, she couldn’t help but let her mind stray from the dress and wonder if Cara was even aware of just how badly Tristan had it for her, how badly he had always had it for her. Cara had noticed something between them the day she had joined the pack, but she was a hopeless romantic and found love, lust and romance in everything—except for her own life. 

Cara’s romantic life had taken a back seat as of late, she troubled to remember the last time she had even looked at somebody and gotten goosebumps, let alone hooked up with somebody or even kissed somebody.

[quinn-lawrence-blog]

“I do but I’ll never tell. I’m like Gossip Girl. Without the highly disappointing ending. Fuck that, I’m going out with a blaze of glory. Possibly involving fireworks, I’m still working out the details.” 

Quinn sighed heavily. “I will regret every day that I signed that contract.” Quinn was already planning an outfit in her mind, one that involved her usual black on black. Lucky for Cara, it didn’t involve her leather jackets. “Help yourself. As long as I can steal your red lipstick.” There was always a trade in mind when it came to Quinn. “I gotta make sure Tristan doesn’t stray too far while working.” She knew that most of Tristan’s income came from women who would stay at the bar to stare at her man. But that didn’t mean she had to be okay with it. She’d always make sure that his eyes were on her. They were wolves, their income didn’t really matter at the end of the day. They would be alive for centuries.

[carasuttons]

“I will get those answers out of you one way or the other.” Alcohol. Alcohol was the one way or the other that Cara would use to get the answers out of Quinn if she ever really did find out what ever happened to Amelia Earhart or learn all of the answers to the universe. “Does that mean you blog about the pack shenanigans and blast us all over the internet?” A smirk crept across her lips, it actually wasn't that hard to imagine Quinn as Gossip Girl; she certainly had the finesse for it.

“That was the best day of your life and you know it.” Cara almost squealed when Quinn agreed to donate one of her leather jackets to her, she was seriously beginning to worry that she might have to wait even longer to finally wear that dress that was calling to her from the back of the closet. “What’s mine is yours!” Cara exclaimed, hooking her arm under Quinn’s and dragging her through the abandoned police station with her. “Tristan doesn't even blink at any other girl. He only has eyes for you. That boy is smitten!” Cara declared, as if she was something of an expert on the subject of love.

[quinn-lawrence-blog]

“I’ve been contemplating the meaning of life, the universe and everything.” Quinn said seriously. “Why you gotta rain on my parade like this?”

“Hey, Tristan is clearing my tab, I don’t know about the rest of you.” Quinn smirked, bumping Cara before standing up. “Come on, we have to get you out of those clothes and into something better. Maybe Noah won’t be the only one picking up tonight.” She waggled her eyebrows before holding out a hand. “I say that today we wear leather. I have a new pair of boots that I got on discount when I was working at that shoe store that need a good work out.”

[carasuttons]

Cara nodded, narrowing her eyes with suspicion. “How is that working out for you? Do you have all the answers to the universe yet?” She gasped with mock exaggeration, clutching her chest, “Do you know what happened to Amelia Earhart?”

“Hey, We’re a package deal remember! If he clears your tab then he clears all of our tabs.” Cara peeled herself off of the couch, looking down at her attire; She was wearing a washed out pair of light, denim jeans that were stained with splashes of different shades of green and blue paint and a wrinkled t-shirt with a printed pizza emoji pattern. “I do have a little red skater dress that I ordered online that I’ve been dying to wear and I have had my eyes on one of your leather jackets.” She smiled, sheepishly, looking Quinn up and down. “You look about my size as well.”

[quinn-lawrence-blog]

“See, people say that but I’m not buying it. I don’t have a hobby. I’m good with that.” It was a very blatant lie, Quinn spent more time in the gym than a normal person but she always claimed that she did it for the pack, not because she enjoyed it. Fitness to her was what kept her grounded as a wolf. It took a lot of focus and dedication and she easily moved those traits to her wolf when she became of age. “I don’t think it’s a hobby, C. I think it’s more of an obsession.”

Quinn’s brow furrowed. It was true, there hadn’t been a time where Noah had picked up a girl since Rosalie left. “One, that’s gross. Two, it’s worrying. Should we force our dear Alpha to come out tonight? I know Tristan is working, we can have a pack night. I mean, if anyone needs to leave this place…”

[carasuttons]

“Everybody has a hobby. Even people who don’t realise that it.” Cara was determined to find a hobby of Quinn’s, she refused to believe that not everybody had a hobby. If she couldn't find a hobby Quinn already had, then she’d make it her mission to find her one. If anyone in the pack needed a hobby to help pass the time, it was Quinn. “It’s still a better way of spending your time than what ever you've been doing on this couch for the last hour.”

“I think we’re two beautiful girls who could make any man do what ever the hell we wanted. Convincing Noah to come for a beer shouldn't be too hard. Especially if Tristan is going to be clearing the tab for us.” Cara smiled, her face lighting up with glee.

[quinn-lawrence-blog]

“Are you sure? You’re willingly helping Noah patch up a place that has literally been falling down for years. Besides, it’s not a pack repair day today, you’re off the hook.” Quinn nudged Cara with her foot as she sat down. “I could. But that still involves getting up and moving and I don’t want to have to appeal to the same side of Noah’s brain that deals with the thoughts of sex. Call me old fashioned but I think that his business and I don’t want anything to do with it.”

[carasuttons]

“Everyone needs a hobby.” Cara’s was painting. It had helped her through her transition of becoming a werewolf when she had become of age. She still didn’t understand why it helped her, but it did. Most of the werewolves she knew took comfort in hitting a punching bag, drowning themselves in a bottle of whiskey or running through the woods at night as a wolf. “Restoring this place to something we can all call a home is Noah’s, I guess.” Cara always thought it was more than that, but she never bothered to ask him. Always unsure if she would be stepping on his toes and crossing a line. After all, she was not a Beta like Quinn and Tristan, she was only an Omega. “I don’t even remember the last time Noah picked a girl up. Do you? Maybe that’s why he’s putting so much time and effort into this place. He’s got to get his frustrations out some how.”

[quinn-lawrence-blog]

“Oh no. He brain washed you. Quick. Sit down, put your feet up before it’s too late.” Quinn spoke very fluently in sarcasm but she still moved her feet in order to give Cara room. “Come on, Cara, please. I don’t get off my ass for anything less than two pizzas and a carton of beer. At least pretend you know me better than this.”

[carasuttons]

“I promise you I am clear of mind. No brainwashing here.” Despite her protests of not being brainwashed, Cara felt like she had been compelled to help Noah with the renovating. Nobody else had offered to help him today, she could not walk away and leave him to do it alone. The guilt would have weighed on her like a ton of bricks. “I will, however, take a quick break. I think I’ve earned it.” She dropped down next to Quinn, curling her feet under herself. “You could always try and talk Noah into ordering pizza and beer. He is a guy after all, pizza and beer is the second and third thing they think about every thirty seconds.”

[quinn-lawrence-blog]

Quinn looked up laying on the couch. She knew that Noah was looking for helping hands and that meant she was staying as far away from him as possible. But seeing as it wasn’t Noah, she smiled slightly. “What up, buttercup? You don’t look so good. Do I need to kick some ass? I’m bored. I can do that.”

[carasuttons]

“If you’re bored, you could always come and give Noah and me a hand.” She said, pointedly. The abandoned police station had fallen apart more times than they had tried to put it back together, but that didn’t mean Noah was ready to let them give up on rebuilding this place and making it a home for them. 

[lexiegrcys]

hayley marshall appreciation week ❋ day seven: free choice (hair porn)